Ben Kornfeld, 17, is the valedictorian at Northeast Christian Academy. A Canadian Citizen, he will attend the University of Calgary in Alberta to study engineering. Ben is an avid swimmer, musician, and golfer.

Photo: Thomas Nguyen, For The Chronicle

Ben Kornfeld, 17, is the valedictorian at Northeast Christian...

Image 2 of 4

Ben Kornfeld, 17, is the valedictorian at Northeast Christian Academy.

Photo: Thomas Nguyen, For The Chronicle

Ben Kornfeld, 17, is the valedictorian at Northeast Christian Academy.

Image 3 of 4

Ben Kornfeld, 17, is the valedictorian at Northeast Christian Academy. He is pictured with his parents Gordon and Jo-Ann.

Ben Kornfeld, a 17-year-old senior at Northeast Christian Academyin Kingwood, is the third sibling in his family to be the school's valedictorian.

"I'm the baby," said Kornfeld, meaning he will be the last one.

Ben's brother, Paul, a 21-year-old business and management engineering student at Stanford, was valedictorian in 2005.

Ben's sister, Jennifer, 22, was valedictorian in 2003. Jennifer is wrapping up her degree in international relations at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.

Kornfeld will follow in her footsteps, heading back to the city where he was born. He will study engineering at the University of Calgary, which is also his parents' alma mater.

His mother, Jo-Ann Kornfeld, graduated with a degree in geography in 1980, the same year Kornfeld's father, Gordon, graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering.

"I want to be an engineer because the field is short of people," Kornfeld said.

"I believe there's a need for engineers because we need to find new energy sources, and I believe I can be part of that new generation that changes the world."

Kornfeld isn't sure what type of engineer he wants to be, but doesn't have to decide until his third year of college.

He's also not sure where he wants to live once he's out of school, but he's open to anything having lived around the world due to his father's career in the oil industry, including four years in Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Kornfeld is working on his valedictorian speech in preparation for graduation ceremonies Friday.

The theme, he thinks, will center on excellence and individualism, at the suggestion of his father.

"I am encouraging him to talk about individualism because it seems it was almost expected he would be valedictorian, because of his brother and sister," Gordon said.

"But that's not the case at all. They're all individuals; they all have different skills and abilities. But they all have a strong work ethic."

While they're all unique individuals, there's no denying it's also unique for Northeast Christian Academy to have a Kornfeld valedictorian legacy.

"We are only 15 years old," said Richard Dardenne, the school's athletic director.

"So to have three members of the same family as valedictorians at a college preparatory school has to be considered unique. The great thing about all three Kornfeld siblings is that they are all Christ-centered kids who are well-rounded academically and athletically."

Kornfeld swam competitively with Blue Tide Aquatics in Kingwood from 1995 until ninth grade, when he joined the team at Northeast Christian Academy.

He is also a musician, able to play keyboard, piano, flute and bass guitar for worship teams at Crossroads Churchin Kingwood.

Kornfeld plans to move north this summer, because as a Canadian citizen he will be able to work until school starts in the fall.